


Three's a Pattern

by onlinemuse



Series: The Tyler Rules [3]
Category: Stargirl (TV 2020)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Big Brother Rick Tyler, Disabled Wendi Harris, F/M, Henry King Jr. Lives, Married Beth Chapel/Rick Tyler, Minor Yolanda Montez/Courtney Whitmore, Wendi Harris and Rex Tyler Live
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-07
Updated: 2020-11-07
Packaged: 2021-03-09 06:35:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,199
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27179329
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/onlinemuse/pseuds/onlinemuse
Summary: “Don’t worry, Ro,” Beth reassured her as she smoothed back the younger girl’s bangs, “It’s just the Tyler rules.”Rick made a curious sound in the back of his throat, kissing her temple as he rubbed soothing circles into her shoulder.“It’s like Moscow rules according to Chuck.” Beth nestled herself further into his side. “You know, once is chance, two’s coincidence, three’s—”“A pattern,” he finished faintly.----Fifteen years later, Rick finds out that some things just run in the Tyler family.
Relationships: Beth Chapel/Rick Tyler, Rebecca "Bex" Tyler/Original Female Character, Wendi Harris/Rex Tyler
Series: The Tyler Rules [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1983823
Kudos: 6





	Three's a Pattern

**Author's Note:**

  * For [freckledpianoman](https://archiveofourown.org/users/freckledpianoman/gifts).



The day Bex Tyler came home holding hands with a girl, declaring that she was going to marry her just as he was helping his very pregnant wife onto the couch was the day that Rick finally admitted defeat.

Even after thirteen years together, three years of marriage and twin girls on the way, Rick would look at Beth, glowing and still as beautiful as the day he met her—

He could play that day frame by frame over and over again in his mind without missing a single thing. Bex had been part of a weekend library program and mom had given him very specific instructions for when he started taking over pick up duties.

_“Don’t scare the kids, don’t embarrass your sister, and whatever you do, do **not** glare at the reader. Bex won’t forgive you if you make a bad first impression on Beth.”_

_He raised an eyebrow, letting out a laugh at the little glare Bex gave him, looking more like a chipmunk failing to look intimidating with her puffed cheeks._

_“The squirt made a friend?”_   
  


_“I’m not you, Riri,” she huffed, the braids he had done for her at breakfast bouncing behind her, “And Beth’s my friend! She does all kinds of cool voices when she reads to us. And she doesn’t get annoyed when I ask a lot of questions.”_

_Wendi laughed before giving him a look that brokered no room for argument, recommending that he at least introduce himself to Beth as she ruffled Bex’s hair._

_“You’ll know who she is as soon as you see her, she’s just like a sunflower.”_

_Rick had almost been afraid to ask if his mom had meant it literally. He never could quite tell when she was in the middle of one of her poetic bents, which happened a lot when she was suffering from artist’s block. But that was before he walked into the reading corner of the library._

_He could only see her from behind, beautiful brown skin and thick coily hair done up in a crown braid. She was wrapped in a white knit cardigan, the skirt of her bright yellow dress spreading around her like a water lily in bloom, a group of children gathered around her like ducklings as she read a mystery story to them. He could spot Bex among them, almost in the older girl’s lap with how she was craning forward to look at the pictures, listening in wide eyed fascination._

_He had only meant to let his sister know that he was already here, awkwardly waving trying to get her attention because the last time he was around a group of seven-year-olds was at Bex’s birthday party and it had ended with shrieking when a pair of rambunctious kids tried to see if they could make him ‘hulk out’._

_But then the little boy sitting beside Bex, a timid thing who looked like a breeze could knock him over looked at him and screamed. So much for not breaking Wendi Harris’ rules._

_“Beth, Beth! There’s an angry man behind you, stranger danger!”_

_A swift WHACK rang out and it took a few seconds for Rick to register what had happened, stunned from the sudden pain he felt on the left side of his face. It wasn’t until he felt gentle hands cup his jaw and heard a frantic, sweet voice repeatedly asking if he was okay that he realized that he had been smacked in the face with a book._

_The girl in front of him (Bex’s friend Beth he assumed from the way that his sister had rushed up to them and did her best to guard the older girl from any sign of his temper starting to flare) had led him to sit in one of the comically tiny chairs that only seemed to exist in the children’s section, but he just couldn’t bring himself to be angry with her._

_Her single-minded panic was kind of adorable and now that she was facing him, he was really glad that his face was already red from his injury because he wouldn’t have been able to hide his blush. He hadn’t quite expected Bex’s friend to be so… **pretty**. An adorable round face, heart shaped mouth ready to curl up in a smile at any moment, a pair of beautiful brown eyes blinking at him in concern. _

_Beth was warm and bright in a way that reminded him summer mornings with the sunlight streaming through the curtains as he felt her brush a stray lock of hair from his forehead and oh—_

_It had barely been a minute, but he was already in so deep. This must have been how dad felt when he met mom._

_He might have owed him an apology._

There were still some days he couldn’t believe that he and Beth had actually gotten to this point.

Rick shook his head, a little bemused by Bex’s declaration at first before Beth had laced their fingers together with a knowing look. She didn’t have to say anything for him to know that Bex had talked to his wife, nervous about introducing her girlfriend to the family. He knew he often accused his sisters of trying to hog Beth, but it was hard for him to hide a smile over how his family adored her.

He understood that feeling all too well.

And seeing his sister and her girlfriend giggling to each other as if they were in their own little world was adorable. It gave him flashbacks to when Courtney and Yolanda had first started dating in junior year, when their relationship was light and happy and new.

_(It was a constant even after they had gotten married, especially when it came to teasing Rick. He had groused over it the day Yolanda had asked him to be her best man, but she had simply turned him around to show Beth and Courtney getting into a frosting fight when they were supposed to be tasting cake samples._

_The two of them, Beth with buttercream smeared across her nose and Court with ganache in her hair, couldn’t stop laughing and he didn’t have to glance over at Yolanda to know that she had the exact same look on her face as they watched their girls.)_

It had been a while since Bex had brought a date home, but he could see that Beth and his mom were rapidly becoming fond of Jane and he could see why. She was bubbly and quick witted with bronze skin and a cloud of springy, dark curls pulled back in a braided ponytail. She didn’t even bat an eye at all the nosy questions as she playfully nudged Bex in between dad and Beth’s usual barrage of chemistry puns.

She was actually a lot like Beth and his mom now that he thought about it. Especially with that charming gap-toothed smile.

“Wait…”

Rick turned to Bex, who was tickling the curve of Beth’s belly as Rowan cooed at the girls yet again. Little Bernadette and Beatrice _(he still couldn’t keep a straight face whenever Beth called them Birdie and Bea to distinguish them from her grandmother and great-aunt)_ hadn’t even been born yet and they already had their aunts wrapped around their finger.

“How did you meet again?”

The sense of dread in his gut grew stronger when his sister broke into a wide, carefree grin.

“We fought a pack of bullies at school together!”

It took him a second too long to register what she had said before—

“You did _what?!_ ”

“I think you mean _you and Jackie_ fought a pack of bullies,” Jane interjected, her glasses slipping down her nose, nearly falling out of her seat with how hard she was laughing.

“I just joined in afterwards. No way I was gonna let you be outnumbered.”

Rick pinched the bridge of his nose, already feeling the onset of a headache. Of course King’s little sister would be involved in this too.

Rebecca Tyler and Jacqueline Pemberton were barely a month apart in age and it was rare to see one without the other, spunky Jackie with riotous red curls and gold freckled skin and mischievous Bex with her hair in sleek braids and their mother’s penchant for colourful nail polish. Trouble was never far behind whenever Bex and Jackie were together, and it was many a headache for Rick and Henry.

It was ironic how their sisters were best friends when they were at each other’s throats on a good day, even if Henry had somewhat mellowed out after getting married. He still couldn’t believe that King was going to be a father too, but at least he wasn’t expecting twins.

Rick barely registered Beth demanding details in between fussing over Bex thanks to the bane of his existence.

“Dad, I can hear you smirking, _cut it out!_ ”

He felt slightly vindicated when Wendi swatted Rex upside the head without even interrupting her conversation with Beth.

“Rex, behave. Leave our son alone.” She turned and winked at Bex and Jane. “He’s still in denial.”

“You’re dead to me, mom,” he huffed, no heat in his voice as he plopped down to wrap himself around a giggling Beth, pressing a kiss to her cheek. “At least my wife still loves me.”

Rowan propped her chin in her hands, looking up at Beth with her nose scrunched in confusion. She had known her sister-in-law ever since she was a baby and turning to her for answers was a habit that hadn’t changed, even when she was now in middle school.

“Don’t worry, Ro,” Beth reassured her as she smoothed back the younger girl’s bangs, “It’s just the Tyler rules.”

Rick made a curious sound in the back of his throat, kissing her temple as he rubbed soothing circles into her shoulder.

“It’s like Moscow rules according to Chuck.” Beth nestled herself further into his side. “You know, once is chance, two’s coincidence, three’s—”

“A pattern,” he finished faintly.

The growing look of horror on his face was enough for a shit-eating grin to overtake Rex’s face, a final nail in the coffin and the Tyler siblings could do little else but share a lifetime of dealing with their embarrassing father in a simultaneous groan.

They had all grown up with the story of how their parents had met.

Dad had been undercover with the JSA at a gallery opening to stop a Psycho Pirate attack when he had seen mom use her wheelchair guard to knock the supervillain off his feet, a snarl on her pretty face. And mom had inherited the Harris family temper and didn’t hesitate the second she felt a hand on her shoulder, swinging her other guard wildly before realizing exactly _who_ was in front of her.

The horrified look on Wendi’s when she registered that she had _broken Hourman’s nose_ was something that still made Rex laugh to this day. He often told his kids that the second that Wendi had berated him for sneaking up on her instead of shrinking back was the moment he realized that he was gonna marry that girl.

And Rick remembered Rex’s words the day he came back from the library with Bex and a bruised face all too well.

_“How did mom breaking your nose lead to you wanting to marry her?” Rick stared at his dad in disbelief, wincing at the sharp cold as he gingerly pressed an ice pack to his face._

_“All that tells me is that you’re a masochist, dad.”_

_“Not in front of your sister.” Rex covered a confused Bex’s ears as he shot his son a sly look._

_“And I should be asking you that. Why did Beth throwing a book at your face make you want to date her? Huh…”_

_Rick did not like the contemplative look spreading across his face. That was the look that led to crazy conclusions like—_

_“Maybe we have a type.”_

_“ **No way in hell, old man!** ”_

_Rex simply waved him off, unphased by his son’s words. If he had a nickel for every time Rick called him that, he’d have enough money to fund the biochemical research that led to the hourglass’ creation twice over._

_“I wouldn’t be surprised if it does run in the family. Maybe we should be prepared for Bex’s turn,” he added in afterthought._

_Rick would’ve pinched the bridge of his nose if his face wasn’t in so much pain. He suddenly felt sorry for whoever his sister ended up dating._

_“You’re gonna jinx us one of these days, dad.”_

But now that he thought about it, maybe Rick had been the one to jinx himself instead.

“At least it was a bully instead of Jane fighting Bex, huh son?”

Rick simply groaned, burying his face in the crook of Beth’s neck, feeling her smile as she combed her fingers through his hair. His hand splayed over her belly as he melted under her touch, just in time to feel a tiny kick against his palm.

The little action made him smile.

Still…

He _really_ hoped that their daughters took more after Beth than him in the romance department.

**Author's Note:**

> And finally some married Hournite content! And some almost Hournite babies that have yet to make their debut in the Tyler family. Somewhere there's a deleted scene where Rick sits down with Courtney and Yolanda and asks if they'd be okay with him naming his daughters after them.
> 
> Bernadette Courtney and Beatrice Yolanda have a nice ring to them. 
> 
> Fun fact, [Jacqueline Pemberton](https://assets.mycast.io/actor_images/actor-kamaia-fairburn-17136_large.jpeg?1578188545) is a real character in the comics. She's [Henry's half-sister](https://dc.fandom.com/wiki/Jacqueline_Pemberton_\(New_Earth\)) who was killed off during her first superhero outing, but you know me, I love unfridging characters.
> 
> As for the Psycho Pirate bit, that was an actual thing that happened in the comics. Wendi agreed to marry Rex after she helped him defeat said villain. 
> 
> And see if you can guess who Henry is married to. Here's a hint, she's my take on an existing JSA heroine.


End file.
